Whirlwind GC hopes its new clock will lead to many “selfie” reasons for promoting the club.
In today’s world, where social media is everywhere, Whirlwind Golf Club at Wild Horse Pass, in Chandler, Ariz., is hoping to make its new clock the focal point of a “selfie” campaign.
Whirlwind is managed by Troon, the Scottsdale, Ariz.-based firm that now owns and operates over 130 properties in the U.S., along with many more around the world. And as part of a new promotional campaign built around this spring’s installation of the new clock, Whirlwind officials are encouraging club members and visitors to take “selfies” in front of it and then post their photos to Twitter, including the hashtag #TroonSelfie with the image.
The clock was positioned to be in the perfect location for either a “selfie” or a traditional photograph, offering a breathtaking view of the desert landscape, highlighted by South Mountain in the background. In addition to having such an appealing backdrop, Whirlwind has become known as a resort destination favored by celebrities; it hosted the New England Patriots during Super Bowl week earlier this year, and is also the home course for the National Football League’s Arizona Cardinals and Major League Baseball’s Arizona Diamondbacks.
“We have a lot of out-of-town guests during the season,” says Jeff DeKruif, Whirlwind’s Controller. “We wanted it to be a photo opportunity for celebrities, guests and members.” In fact, country music star Toby Keith was the first person to take a picture in front of the clock after it was installed.
Proven Value
According to DeKruif, the club’s management decided this year to install a new clock that would enhance its property and generate new pride and excitement among members and guests. The customized clock was built to Whirlwind’s specifications by The Verdin Company, the six-generation, Cincinnati, Ohio-based family business that has made cast-bronze bells, carillons, tower and street clocks, and other streetscape furnishings since 1842.
“The new clock will be a focal point for group events, as Whirlwind hosts nearly 24,000 tournament and charity golf rounds a year,” says DeKruif. “We are one of the busiest golf courses in the state of Arizona, and the busiest tournament/group golf course among all of Troon’s worldwide properties.”
Overall, 80,000 rounds are played on Whirlwind’s two courses each year, and the clock was positioned strategically on the property for maximum visibility.
“The new clock has been located on a newly built island near the practice putting green, so that every guest must pass by it, whether they’re on the way to the driving range or to the first tee of either the Devil’s Claw or Cattail courses,” DeKruif notes.
The vision for installing the clock, and for having Verdin produce it, initiated with Whirlwind’s General Manager Marty Hoeffken, a 13-year Troon employee who has worked at other clubs that have had clocks, and has seen the value and prestige they can bring to a property. And this year, when Whirlwind’s ownership group “decided to start the process of a major clubhouse expansion and remodeling, [the clock] was something that we wanted to add to make it special,” DeKruif reports.
Extra incentive—and urgency—was added when Whirlwind was selected to be the site of this year’s Troon Leadership Conference, as a nod to the club’s selection in 2012 as Troon’s Worldwide Facility of the Year and Hoeffken’s a year later as General Manager of the Year.
After deciding in March that the clock should be part of its expansion and renovation project, Whirlwind contacted Verdin to see if it could be possible to have it designed, manufactured, delivered and installed in time for the Conference in early May.
Jeannie R. Caldwell, Verdin’s Street Clock Product Manager, assured Whirlwind that the deadline could be met and then quickly set the project in motion—starting with selection of the special design for the face of the clock that includes Whirlwind’s logo, which features a basket-weave design that is part of local Native American tradition preserved by the Gila River Indian Community (see photo, below left). “They wanted the clock to make a statement,” Caldwell says.
Making the tight turnaround was aided greatly, Caldwell reports, by how the staff and management at Whirlwind’s end helped to coordinate with Verdin’s experienced staff (the company makes about 300 installations at golf properties each year) to speed the process. “They were a fantastic club to work with,” she says. “They did all of the advance work.”
That advance work included using a diagram supplied by Verdin to have a contractor assess the site and install the clock’s foundation, made of rebar and concrete, along with the required electrical preparation.
The clock was then shipped in two crates, one containing the head and the other with the post. “The post is bolted onto the foundation, and then the clock head is lowered onto the post,” DeKruif says. “It has an electronic clock controller with GPS. You plug it in and it sets itself.”
Overall, says Caldwell, the Whirlwind project was completed with one of the quickest turnarounds she’s ever been involved with. “We had a lot of people who have done this for years involved with this project,” she notes. “They helped make it run smoothly.”
And since the clock’s installation, DeKruif says, the response has been outstanding—starting right away with the Troon managers who saw it at the Conference, and continuing ever since with members and guests.
“We are a resort property, but we also have 100 non-equity members, and they love it,” DeKruif says.
The clock is a fitting indication of Whirlwind’s continued growth, which will be enhanced by its $1 million expansion and renovation of its clubhouse, locker rooms, restrooms and restaurant.
“We are going to do a facelift at the golf shop and reface the exterior of the building with a modern, contemporary architecture,” DeKruif says. “Whirlwind is already one of the best golf clubs in the Phoenix valley. After the renovation is completed, we hope to be positioned at the top of the list for guest experience, amenities, and overall value.”
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